Hand pad for plastering trowels



Dec. 7 1926. 1,609,704

Mx'. ELLIS HAND PAD FOR l-LASTERING TROWELS- Filed June 24, 192s 22 I 16l MiZes'IEZZis A TTORNE Y.

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Patented Dec. 7, 1926.

UNITED .STATES MILES T. ELLIS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA;

` HAND Pnn Fon PLASTERING TROW'ELS.

Application lfiled June 24,

My invention relates to plasterers.' tools and more particularly to aplastering trowel with a hand-pad attached thereto.

Plasterers and other users of plastering trowels find that the constant.gripping of the handle of the trowel, together' with the constantpressure necessarily exerted on the trowel agaist a. wall or ceiling,for hours at a time, fatigue the gripping-muscles of the hand and themuscles of the fore-arm as well as the wrist to such an extent as oftento cause considerable discomfort and even distress.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a plastering trowel,equipped with a flexible hand-pad against which pressure may be exertedby the back of the hand so as tol relieve the gripping muscles and thestrain on the wrist, at times, thus affording them intervals ofComparative rest.

A further object is to provide a flexible hand-pad, for use onplastering trowels and the like, which is simple, durable andinexpensive and which readily may be attached to the trowel or removedtherefrom.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter' and while I showherewith and will describe a preferred form of construction, I desire itto be understood that I do not confine my invention to such preferredform but that various changes and adapta.- tions may be made' thereinwithout departing from the spirit of my invention as hereinafterclaimed.

Referring to the drawings which accompany this specification and form apart thereof,

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of my im* proved plastering trowelequipped with my flexible hand-pad.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the trowel shown inFig'. 1, taken in a plane through the middle of the handpad and lookingtoward the handle post.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the hand-pad, by itself,taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Considering the drawings more in detail it will be seen that the trowel,vin common with all plastering trowels, consists of a thin rectangularblade 1() having a handle post 11 attached at right angles thereto| by afastening-strip 12, made integral with the y handle post, saidfastening-strip extending 1926:- seriai No: 118,144.'

longitudinally in the middle of the blade and being riveted thereto, andsaidrpost be ing provided with a shank 13, fixed thereon so as to beparallel to the blade and fastening-strip and cor-extensive with one endof the latter. A handle 14 of wood or other suitable material is mountedon shank 18 and is held thereon by a nut 15 in the usual way. As shownin Fig. 1 the handle is made somewhat thinner in the middle than at theends, so that it is slightly concave in longitudinal outline, to providea more reliable grip for the hand than the usual straight form.

That part of fastening-strip 12 which extends parallel to the handle inspaced rela.- tion thereto, is made of a relatively thick bar 16, withVshaped grooves 17 cut in its sides, so that it serves as a slide-railupon which the pad, presently to be described, is mounted. The pad 18 ispreferably made of soft rubber or similar flexible material. Its lengthis about Vequal to that of handle let and it is approximately ellipticalin cross section. A longitudinal groove 19, fitting rail 16, is formedin the under side of the pad, whereby flanges 2O are produced which litin V-shaped grooves 17 of said rail. Transverse depressions 21 areformed on the Lipper side of the pad, giving it a wave-like outlineadapted to conform to the lingers of a closed hand when grasping thehandle.

Reinforcing clips 22 of spring metal, bent to coincide with groove 19are moulded into the pad at the middle and ends thereof, as shown inFig. 3, or a full-length metal strip, similarly bent, may be usedinstead of the clips shown.

The pad thus formed is adapted to be slipped endwise onto rail 16, asVshown in F ig. 1, and in this position serves as a pressure pad for theback of the hand, there being ample space left between the handle 17andthe pad 18 to permit of fingers being inserted therein as indicated bythe dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The use of the pad is evident. `When the blade 10 of the trowel ispressed against a wall or ceiling, in the usual way, the grip of thehand on handle 14 may be relaxed occasionally andA pressure appliedagainst pad 18 by the back of the hand or fingers, thus shifting themuscular strain and resting the gripping muscles and Wrist, so that thesense of discomfort due to fatigue, in the course of a days Work will bemuch reduced.

Hl ving thus illustrated and described my invention, I Cla-im:

1. A hand-pad, for use on plastering t-roWels7 Comprising an elongatedbody of flexible material having a longitudinal groove in one sidethereof and transverse reinforcing clips, conforming to said groove,whereby said body may be detachably fixed to the blade of a plasteringtrowel under the handle thereof.

2. A plastering troWel equipped with a hand-pad, said plastering trowelhaving a mountingbar fixed under the handle thereof and said hand-padcomprising an elongated body, (2o-extensive with the handle of theplastering troWel, of flexible material said body having a longitudinalgroove in one side thereof fitting on said mounting-bar, whereby saidhand-pad is detaehably held on the trowel in spaced relation to thehandle thereof.

MILES T. ELLIS.

